Paddy Pimblett is already planning fight week material for a fight he says he doesn’t want next. “Paddy Pimblett reveals hilarious prop he plans to bring to press conference if he fights Ilia Topuria,” Bloody Elbow wrote on X late Friday, linking to its full story. The post doesn’t say what the prop actually is, so for now the punchline sits behind the link.
Pimblett is 24-4 and sits at No. 6 in the Knockout Daily lightweight rankings. He still trains out of Next Generation MMA Liverpool, the gym he walked into at 15 after watching Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort at UFC 103. His UFC run built steadily from a first-round knockout of Luigi Vendramini in his 2021 debut, through a decision over Tony Ferguson and a triangle choke on King Green, to a third-round TKO of Michael Chandler at UFC 314 in April 2025.
Then came UFC 324 on January 24, 2026, when he fought Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title and lost a unanimous decision. Gaethje hasn’t let it fade. In a clip from Barstool Sports shared by Championship Rounds, a fan told Gaethje he was a Pimblett fan without realizing the two had fought. Gaethje answered: “I fought him in January, I beat him up. I dog walked that motherf*cker.” The Barstool connection is a little rich, given Pimblett signed an endorsement deal with the company worth over $1,000,000 back in 2021.
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Topuria is a different kind of problem. He’s 17-1, No. 3 in our lightweight rankings, and a former UFC champion at both featherweight and lightweight, the first fighter to win belts in two UFC divisions while undefeated. His last fight was June 14, 2026. He also carries a 95.2% takedown defense rate, though Arman Tsarukyan isn’t buying it. “I think if you brought him to Chechnya or Dagestan, into any gym, even the amateurs would be able to take him down and ground and pound him,” Tsarukyan said in a clip shared by DovySimuMMA. If a Topuria press conference ever happens, Pimblett won’t be the only one taking shots.
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The catch is that Pimblett himself has pointed elsewhere. In an interview clip posted by Spinnin Backfist this week, he said he’d prefer the Gaethje rematch over a fight with Topuria. Nothing in the reporting suggests either bout has been booked, which leaves the prop as a bit waiting for its stage. Topuria, meanwhile, spent the week being filmed behind the wheel of a KTM X-Bow GT-XR in Georgia.
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